The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Review: Part 2
by Joshua Ho on July 5, 2016 8:00 AM ESTSystem Performance Cont'd
Now that we've gone over the more general purpose system benchmarks we can focus on new benchmarks that emphasize GPU performance much more strongly. For the most part we haven't had huge issues here like we've had with good CPU and general performance benchmarks, but it's important for us to keep our benchmarks up to date in terms of workload balance and overall performance.
One of our first new benchmarks designed to better test the GPU is 3DMark's Sling Shot ES 3.1 test, which is designed to test a GPU's performance when the application is either using OpenGL ES 3.1 or Metal. As one can see, the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 have basically comparable GPU performance in this test and in the physics test as well. Once again we're seeing how core count and clock speed are basically the primary determinants of performance in the physics test when the device isn't strongly limited by thermals. I wouldn't draw any real conclusions from this as generally game CPU code can extract ILP unlike what we're seeing in this test.
In this test we start to see that the Mali GPU in the Exynos 8890 and the PowerVR GPU in the A9 are providing a noticeable advantage over the Snapdragon 820's Adreno 530 to a noticeable extent.
With GFXBench we can see that in Car Chase and Manhattan the Adreno 530 actually manages to pull away. However, because we have basically zero architecture disclosure on the Adreno 530 there's really no way for us to explain what's going on here and why. The reasons for the difference in performance could be related to drivers or architecture or architecture implementation and in the absence of information it's probably best to avoid making blind guesses. Regardless of these details, the Snapdragon 820's GPU should be more than enough for playing the latest games, but unless you use Samsung's automatic game optimizer system to set render resolution to 1080p it won't do as well as the iPhone 6s but given that most Android games target a much lower spec level it's likely that you won't have any problems given that the Adreno 530 is on the bleeding edge for Android SoCs.
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lilmoe - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Does support and availability ring a bell? Sure, the high-end is overpriced, but companies like Samsung and LG have WAY more overhead and licensing to pay for than Chinese companies. This isn't only about brand recognition.Impulses - Thursday, July 7, 2016 - link
I dunno that any of these companies really have great support, as in customer support, none are doing great at updates tho I'll grant you the Samsung and HTC of the world (maybe not LG) are probably doing better than OPO and Huwaei at long term updates...You're probably right about availability, but will that matter in the long run? I could care less about whether the phone I buy is available in Best Buy or the carrier store. I surely represent a minority in that regard but that could change...
lilmoe - Thursday, July 7, 2016 - link
"I dunno that any of these companies really have great support"Good support > NO support.
Consumers don't care about updates, what they care about is repairs and returns. When it comes to updates, Samsung is delivering security updates on a monthly basis. I personally stopped caring for the "latest and greatest" version of Android.
You probably wouldn't care until your device starts acting up. For most people, just walking in to fix their phones is a lot more appealing than mailing them in (if the latter was even available).
Impulses - Thursday, July 7, 2016 - link
Repairs and returns... Doesn't everyone that care about that just pay the carrier for insurance? I guess the extended warranties the likes of HTC have been providing lately are nice too... I'm not really sure the mass market cares a ton about that tho, mostly out of cluelessness, if anything they go for the easiest option (insurance)...You talk about walking in for a fix, but that comes down to carriers, not really Samsung, at least in the US... And the vast majority of the time they just hand out replacements because it's quicker and involves less work and staffing on their part.
If Samsung or some other big OEM has walk in service centers elsewhere in the world that's need to me. If anything, you're making a case for things like Apple Care... And before you accuse me of being a fan boy again, the only piece of Apple hardware I've ever owned was an iPod touch 2nd gen.
Impulses - Thursday, July 7, 2016 - link
These's news (not need) to me rather.lilmoe - Friday, July 8, 2016 - link
Here's another piece of news for you, there's a vast new world abroad.ph00ny - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
As a long time reader of the site, i miss Brian. His analytical style of writing fit the site perfect back in the daysvyis - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
His nexus 4 review is the first i read here, and make me stay hereph00ny - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
I remember offering to send my international Note 1 to him so that he can review it since they didn't release one for another four months and that was released with snapdragonmore-or-less - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
Frankly speaking, hugely dissapointed with the review and the effort put by the editor. Some battery tests missing Exynos values or Edge values. What on earth took 4 months for this review??I am sincerely waiting for a deep-dive article by Andrei F. Otherwise, this review is just a dissapointment on every level.
If you release a review after 4 months, make it worthwhile. I am 'sure' this review could have been finished within 1 month, if someone wanted to.